Chapter Fifty Four

Third day, Fourth Moon, 253 AC (+18 days)

I pinched the bridge of my nose as I felt another headache coming on. As we travelled out from Stonefisk, we had had good success. The people there were close enough to Stonefisk for some goodwill to carry over, and they were eager for my plans. But as we continued to travel, and the villages became smaller and sparser, people trusted less.

Oh, they were suitably obedient once they saw my banner, but gone was my hope to forge good working relationships with these people. They wanted protection, yes, but they were also fiercely independent. They paid their taxes, but that was the end of their interaction with any type of authority. And my intruding on that tradition?

The man in front of me crossed his arms, and while he was not in any way hostile, I could feel his resentment.

"I dunno, m'lord," he replied. "Not something, we've done before."

"Well then, how do you collect it?" I asked.

He shrugged. "Go out in a canoe and collect it. It stores nice 'n good for eating over the winter."

"So, you don't try and farm the rice at all?"

He shook his head. "No, m'lord. Like I said, it grows by itself. Just like berries."

I sighed and waved him off, and he was only too happy to leave me be. This area had an interesting type of food – rice. It was not what you would normally picture as rice; it was not small, white grains. These were a very narrow, dark brown rice that was found along the shore of many of the lakes and rivers that dotted this region. The rice seemed different but familiar at the same time. I couldn't quite place this wild rice.

The region, on the other hand, I could place. It was a very boggy area, filled with peat and water. If the northern half of the peninsula was mostly stone, with eroding soil, this is where it all ended up. It was a miserable, bug-ridden place, with its miserable people as well. Still little to no trees, though the landscape was greener. I hoped that by the time we reached where I hoped to start Koryn's new castle, Osend, the landscape would be much different. It seemed that this whole peninsula wanted to drain south, so I hoped that since the land was better on the interior portion of the northern end, it would be on the southern end as well.

The peat was interesting, in that I knew it could be an important thing. I just wasn't entirely sure how. It was used in making whiskey in Scotland, though I had no idea if that was just a marketing ploy or not, and it was historically a good fuel source. The people, however, put a huge damper on any plan I could come up with. Frankly, there were people here – probably the same number as on the northern end of the peninsula – but they were much farther apart. Skilled trades were almost non-existent - if people couldn't make it themselves, they didn't have it. I had yet to meet a blacksmith that could work with steel in any significant quantity, but every family was able to fashion some plain metal tools for themselves.

Any economic plan for this area would need to rely on cottage industry, which put it at the bottom of my priorities. The people did not know of any major mines, and they obtained all their iron from the bogs. For the first time, I was at a loss of what to do. I had had indecision before, but that was always caused by competing options or choosing priorities. Here, I had nothing.

The rice was a glimmer of hope, but I knew nothing about rice. How was is farmed? I knew of rice paddies as a concept, but not in detail. The people here didn't even farm it, so I had nothing to base off of or improve; they just collected wild rice to add to their diets. Did the rice need to be prepared before planting? How deep into the soil? I remembered the fields being filled with water, but not all the time? Was that two different forms of rice farming, or did the fields need to be drained?

I let out a sigh. I didn't know enough, and the people here don't either; and even if they did, they were not inclined to help.

This trip had been wonderful so far – especially being able to see all my land – and while it had been challenging at times, nothing had discouraged me. But I was starting to feel burnt out, as every group of people reacted the same, and progress was slow. We did only a little teaching in the area, and it felt like we accomplished little, and I wasn't sure how to change that.

I watched as the man walked away before a thought popped into my head.

"Hey!" I called. Damn, what was his name again? "Hey, you. Get back here; I got something for you!"

He looked startled and came back over. "You called for me, m'lord?"

"Yes, I need you to pass on a message. Ten gold dragons to whoever comes up with a way to plant and harvest as much rice as possible."

His eyes bugged out, and his jaw dropped. "T-t-ten gold dragons?" He stuttered out.

"Yes, the first person to do so, and be able to tell me, or one of my people, how to do it, will earn ten gold dragons. Make sure you pass along the message to everyone to the north of you. I will be telling those to the south. Understood?"

He nodded his head. "Aye, m'lord! Err, are there any other rules?"

I shook my head. "You know what a field of crops looks like, right? Like a row of carrots or something like that?" The man nodded his head. "Right, well, I want that, but with rice. It can be planted underwater or on dry land – I don't know which. Figure it out. The person who does gets the gold."

There was a glimmer of greed in the man's eye. "I'll tell everyone m'lord!"

"Good. When my tax collectors come through, I am sure that they will have found that you passed on this message, correct?"

The man paled a bit. "Yes, m'lord!"

I gave him a thin smile. "Excellent! Off you go now; I look forward too seeing what you come up with."

The man walked off as fast as he could, though I wasn't sure if it was fear driving him or motivation for success. Probably both. At least my problems for this area, if not solved, were at least pushed back.